yung_flynn

The Cat's Drive are interesting in the sense that the thigh, knee, and leg opening don't seem to quite scale proportionally with the waist. At my size (31 or 32), they seem reasonably like a slim straight and actually a bit wider than a modern 501 in a comparable size. They're wider than WH 900xx through the leg too. The TCBs seem like they size smaller through the legs at larger waist sizes though. I still wish that the knee and l.o. were a touch bigger, but I might still consider rolling the dice on them. The front rise is still very generous at my size (bigger even than WH 1001xx), which solves my biggest issue with many slim straights (proportionally ass > thighs > waist)

I'm a 12D in the loafers and 13B in the mocs. Rancourt customer service helped with sizing. Brannock is 13B. My feet are a bit wonky though - both are almost completely flat and my left is a full brannock size shorter than the right - so take my advice and experience with that in mind. Their lasts seem to work well for my feet which can be a challenge. Both were only about $120 new at their pre-sale too and at that price I can't complain, nicer than most options in that price range. Paying the full $320 MSRP may have been a different story though. I agree with your thoughts on the shell though. If I'm going to pay for shell, I'd rather just grab the Alden LHS. Rancourt's are a bit rough and ready in styling in my experience, which isn't a bad thing for chromexcel and some of their moc-styled option but sort of defeats the purpose of buying shell for loafers. I'm not a huge fan of Rancourt's full strap and weltline loafers. The extra couple of hundred dollars for Alden is definitely worth it for those. I do like their more rugged offerings though (boots, mocs, beefrolls, etc.). I live in a more rugged place though, so the moc stylings work pretty well here.

Currently it's not quite so cold yet and the lack of boots is not a big deal, so I'm getting buy with loafers and ranger mocs from Rancourt. Both are nice. Most of their shoes (and both of my pairs) tend to be chromexcel, same with Grant Stone, so they do crease easily but that's part of the charm to an extent for me I work in a lab though, so I have to wear safety shoes for a portion of the day anyway.

I personally don't have any Alden Indys, but the people that I know who do have them like them. I agree that current MSRP is a bit hard to swallow, although the pop-up on eBay with some frequency closer to $350-400. If I'm going to shell out on Alden shoes, I'd prefer their LHS loafers. Rancourt (also MiUSA) and Grant Stone make quality and reasonably similar style boots as Alden closer to the $350-400 range. All 3 of these brands use similar Horween leathers as well so they're not skimping on materials quality. Rancourt boots can be had for closer to $200 if you can wait out for their pre-sale (definitely one in late summer, maybe in late winter too but I can't remember). Lead times are long though - I'm still waiting on my pre-order pair of Byron boots from August. They should arrive this month and I can post a few photos when they do.

It's a bit of a bummer that the body and sleeves on the storm rider aren't a couple inches longer, especially considering that their other jackets and shirts are some of the few that I feel would be reliably long enough for my spindly frame. It would barely hit my waistband and my wrist bone. The measurements for the matching jeans look on point though - almost identical to my ideal measurements. They're pretty tempting, especially considering that they are Leepros and have enough a nicely long inseam.

Non-denim day - more of a milsurp professor look. Polo Peacoat, J Press shaggy dog sweater, J Press bengal striped broadcloth shirt, Buzz 1941 chinos, Rancourt beefroll loafers. Better Close-up of shirt and colors

At that price, those are a pretty good deal. At the end of the day, broguing aside, they’re not much different in design than Allen Edmonds or Alden Indy boots which both fit perfectly well with denim. AE even sells brogues boots IIRC, so they definitely have a place in the Ivy denim canon. You’ll not find Indys at that price point even used either and these are probably much easier to obtain in Europe

I'd pass on them as well. For about the same price, you could get Indy boots from Alden or shell cordovan (Porter) boots from Rancourt. For half the price, you could get non-shell (Byron) boots from Rancourt. Any of those would match a range of Americana stylings and probably would mesh better with your denim collection than the more Euro brogued Trickers. Rancourt ships internationally (not sure about Alden) and their customer service is very helpful on sizing advice, on par with TCB in my opinion. They also have a pre-sale once or twice a year, where a lot of their shoes and boots are >50% for delayed manufacturing and shipment, a la TCB. Their loafers and Mocs are great as well, although clearly a different vibe than boots.